The Devil: Cards of Love

by Jade, Ashley

  Cain’s not wrong. I needed to find out what made him tick…see if we were cut from the same cloth as I’d suspected.

  But in order to find all that out, I had to invite him into my world and get under his skin like he’d gotten under mine.

  I had to find out why my interest in him was becoming all-consuming. An unbearable itch that would kill me if I didn’t scratch it.

  And once I realized why…he didn’t stand a chance in hell of escaping me. He was mine the moment I decided I wanted him to be.

  Just like everyone else I’ve ever wanted. Only unlike them…Cain’s special.

  However, if Cain didn’t want this, he could have stopped it before it spun out of control. Instead, he kept coming back for more.

  Kept toying with me. Kept pushing my buttons.

  Because he likes my attention. And he craves the things I do to his body.

  He’s addicted to his pedestal. Same way I’m addicted to him.

  “You can stand here and point fingers at me. You can even make yourself believe you were taken advantage of if that’s what helps you sleep at night.” Taking a step forward, I close the distance between us. I smirk when I feel the growing bulge along his thigh. I haven’t even touched him and he’s already hard. “But we both know my interest wasn’t one-sided. You enjoy being my prey.” Leaning in, I lick the shell of his ear. “The only thing you didn’t like? Was the idea of sharing your pedestal with someone else. Which is why you got rid of Mrs. Miller.”

  “You’re right.” The sound of his zipper lowering has my own dick hardening. “It’s no secret I’ve always had a problem sharing my toys and getting along with others.”

  The bitterness in his tone is unmistakable. I want to remind him this is no longer a competition because Mrs. Miller’s already dead and I’m already his—but he presses down on my shoulder, urging me on my knees. “Now why don’t you give me something to take the edge off while I finish the rest of this conversation?”

  I shake my head. “Conversation is already over.” Gripping his neck, I lean my forehead against his. “And I’m not in the mood to suck your dick.” I sink my teeth into his lower lip and slip my other hand down the back of his pants. “I want to tie you up and fuck you so hard you won’t be able to walk for weeks.”

  His nostrils flare as I begin prepping him with my finger, and I can see the internal war he’s waging with himself. It’s almost cute, considering we both know I’ll be balls deep inside his ass in the next minute. He can’t resist me any more than I can resist him.

  “Damien.” His voice is a low rasp, almost pleading. “Please.”

  And just like that…I’m caving and dropping to my knees for him.

  Cain’s out of sorts and it’s obvious he needs me. I’m willing to put my selfish needs aside momentarily and give him what he wants.

  His hand goes to my head as I pull him out. “I knew you’d give in.” He groans as I proceed to tease him. “You’re so fucking obsessed you’d do anything for me, huh?”

  Being submissive has never been my thing, but what’s happening in this moment is beyond that. It’s about being partners—one taking care of the other when they’re spinning out.

  If Cain needs me to relinquish control in order to get some of it back so he can feel better—I’ll do it.

  He groans my name when I take him in my mouth. “I bet you’d even let me fuck you if I wanted to.”

  I freeze. The idea of Cain screwing me has never appealed to me before and it doesn’t now.

  He strokes my cheek. “Wouldn’t you, Damien?”

  I nod in agreement.

  This is what happens when you meet your match. You sacrifice the things you want…or in this case, don’t want…for the things they do.

  A grin tugs at the corners of his lips. “I wonder what else you’d let me do?”

  “Anything you want.”

  I mean it. Cain needs to know we’re not rivals. We never were. We’re equals. No…more than that. We’re a team.

  He’s mine and I’m his.

  Taking him deeper, I go back to the task at hand. Drawing out little grunts of pleasure from Cain that go straight to my own cock.

  “I’d bet you’d let me tie you up,” he rasps. “Let me make you my sex slave, fulfilling my every command because you’re so desperate for me.”

  I suck him harder and he trembles, thrusting his hips into my face. “Wouldn’t you, Damien?”

  Releasing him, I look up. “If that’s what you wanted.”

  He yanks my shirt over my head and shakes it out before he tosses it across the room. “What I want right now is to fuck you. Take off your pants.”

  “Wait,” he says when I start undoing my belt.

  “What?”

  His eyes darken. “I have to pee.” An evil grin spreads across his face and he runs the tip of his dick along my bottom lip. “Open.”

  The organ in my chest beats so hard it hurts. I know this is nothing more than a power play. A way for Cain to see how loyal I truly am…how far I’m willing to go for him.

  Not breaking eye contact, I part my lips and hold my breath. Preparing for what’s to come.

  His callous laugh confuses me. “God, you’re fucking pathetic. No wonder your mother was a dope head. She needed an escape from her slow, moronic son.” He pushes my head away. “You’re so obsessed with me. So desperate for my dick…you failed to realize what was really happening between us.”

  I’m trying to wrap my head around what he’s saying and what it means, but Cain’s fifty steps ahead of me in what feels like a millisecond. “Failed to realize what exactly?”

  “This whole time you thought I was your prey…but you were mine.” He pulls something out of his pocket. A small black cassette tape. “It was nice being fawned over, having my dick sucked whenever I wanted, and of course—having an alibi when I needed one. But our time together is over, Damien. There’s only room for one of us in this tank.”

  I open my mouth to speak, but he presses a button on the phone and my voice fills the room.

  “Well, before the pills, I would have re-wired an everyday household item...something simple…maybe a coffee maker or toaster. This way, they’d blame it on faulty wiring.”

  “Blame what on faulty wiring?”

  “The fire that would kill him.”

  His smile is as cruel as he is. “Our paths might have crossed, but my future plans don’t include you.”

  I stand up, which is a bad idea because the room is spinning. I’m trying to connect the dots…no that’s wrong. I’ve already connected the dots—it wasn’t hard—but my brain is trying to make up excuses as to why he did it.

  Even though my heart already knows the truth.

  This isn’t a mistake or a lapse in judgment. He recorded that conversation for one reason and one reason only.

  To set me up to take the fall.

  And that can only mean one thing. Cain never felt the same way for me as I do for him. He just wanted me to believe he did.

  My partner. The object of my fascination…the person I thought was my reward for all the bad shit I’ve been through…is a traitor.

  And I was nothing more than a love-sick pawn.

  This whole time I thought Cain made me a better person…but it was only because I made him a worse one.

  Just like my piranha who ended up a meal just moments prior. I didn’t realize I was in danger until it was too late.

  The sound of the gun cocking is loud in the now quiet room. Cain’s not even shaking as he points it at me. If anything, he’s calm and collected.

  He’s in total control. Blowing me off the face of this earth doesn’t impact him in the least.

  And why should it…his body count is already up to three. What’s one more to a psychopath?

  “You have three choices.” His eyes flash. “Option one—I can kill you and make it look like you took your own life because your guilt about being a murderer was starting to eat you alive.” He shru
gs. “It’s not a bad way to go. People will still hate you, but at least they’ll know you felt remorse for your sins at the end.”

  A surge of anger rushes through me and I press my forehead into the gun he’s holding against it. “What are you waiting for? Pull the fucking trigger.”

  He’s already stripped me of everything I’ve ever cared about in the last five minutes…including my power and control. He might as well finish me off.

  He clicks his tongue. “Option two—I could call Detective Trejo and tell him I stumbled upon a certain recording that I found in my brother’s car…and you can go to jail for the rest of your life.” He winks. “Come to think of it, you might like it there. It’s not all that different from your life now. Minus the fish tank of course. You’ll still have plenty of time to work out and fuck.”

  I stay silent, the rage inside me waging war with the sharp pain of Cain’s betrayal.

  “What’s option three?”

  It doesn’t make sense why he’d give me another option when it’s clear there are only two.

  His expression doesn’t change. “I’ll let you live…but it will be in torment. If you choose option three—you will walk out your front door in the next minute and never step foot in this town again, or even think about contacting me for the rest of your miserable life. Because if you do? I’m picking option one or two.”

  Option three is the worst one of them all.

  My throat burns. “Ca—

  The sound of the gun firing makes my ears ring and for a moment, I’m thankful he shot me.

  Only he didn’t. He shot the wall behind me. “Get the fuck out, Damien.”

  I don’t move a muscle. If he’s going to break my heart and screw up my life, the least he can do is have the guts to end it on my terms.

  Because I don’t want to live in the four walls of a prison cell without my freedom like one of my mother’s fish in captivity.

  And I sure as fuck don’t want to live in a world where I can’t have him.

  “Option one.”

  For a second, I see something pass in his gaze, but then it’s gone when he reaches in his pocket with his free hand and pulls out his cell.

  I watch in outrage as he brings it to his ear. “Hey, Detective Trejo. It’s Cain Carter. Listen—”

  “I’ll leave.”

  As usual. I’m at his mercy. He’s making the choice for me.

  He hangs up the phone. “You have twenty seconds.”

  Bending down, I pick up my shirt, holding out hope that he’ll tell me this is nothing more than a stupid joke and he just wanted to see how far I’d go for him.

  “Cain.” Despite the gun he’s holding, I edge forward. As close as I can get to him. Maybe he needs to hear someone say it. Just like I do.

  “I love—”

  A stream of warm liquid saturates my clothes before a faint ammonia smell fills my nostrils. I look down in shock.

  Cain’s peeing on me…like he’s a dog and I’m a goddamn fire hydrant.

  “You have two seconds to leave me the fuck alone forever, or I’ll call Detective Trejo back.” The gun in his hand shakes as he continues urinating, aiming for my pants and shoes. “I never wanted you, and I sure as hell never loved you, you fucking faggot. I never will.”

  The heart I wasn’t sure I had until Cain, shatters as I run out of my bedroom. Leaving nothing but a gaping hole in my chest.

  A gaping hole now filled with a venomous wrath so strong, I start shaking with the force of it.

  If Cain thought I was obsessed before, he has no idea what kind of poison his hurt and betrayal has unleashed inside of me.

  Sometimes the only difference between love and obsession is a broken heart.

  And unfortunately for Cain…there’s no longer love.

  There’s only darkness. A need for vengeance.

  But it’s not enough to idly threaten him. It’s not enough to screw with his head.

  No…I’m going to bide my time and let Cain lead his perfect life.

  I’m going to let him forget about me.

  And then…when he’s content and happy. When he’s close to getting everything he ever wanted.

  When he finally falls in love…or at the very least, a lust so powerful it drives him crazy with obsession.

  That’s when I’ll appear.

  Because the best way to hurt someone, the only way to make them truly pay and suffer for their sins…is to strike when they least expect it.

  And then destroy everything they ever wanted…everything they ever cared about.

  Until they have nothing.

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  The Devil’s Advocate

  Chapter 1 (Eden)

  It’s not Cain. It can’t be.

  Cain wouldn’t bring me here just so he could hurt me like this.

  He loves me.

  I wipe the tear making its way down my cheek with my fingers.

  Despite my brain’s insistence that the man leaving in a haste isn’t Cain…another tear falls.

  His lips.

  Everything else about the man. His hair, his tux, even the way he touched the woman he kissed on the dancefloor…I could chalk up to coincidence. But I know those lips.

  They’re the same lips I’ve dreamed about kissing since I was fourteen.

  But my heart isn’t convinced. It needs proof. I refuse to believe Cain would betray me like this.

  I take a step forward, preparing to follow him out of the ballroom, but the ground beneath me tilts and I stumble instead.

  I’m trying to gather my bearings when the lights above me change colors, illuminating the room in a red glow.

  “Take it easy, sweetheart.” The man next to me nods at the now packed dance floor. “Cocktail hour just ended, and you’re already hammered.”

  I blink in confusion. I’m not drunk. Anxiety shoots through me like a rocket and I clutch my chest. It’s becoming an actual struggle to draw in air.

  Oh, God. I’m having a panic attack. Right here in front of all these people.

  “Why don’t we go somewhere more private for a little while?” the man shouts in my ear, so loud I wince. “This way I can look after you.”

  The man tugs on my hand, but I yank it back.

  Nausea churns my insides. I need to get out of here but my feet won’t move, no matter how much I plead with them to.

  Cain. I need him. He’s the only one who can help me through this.

  Instinctively, I peruse the room for him while I pull out my phone, ignoring the little voice inside mocking my efforts.

  Angelbaby123: I feel like I’m going to pass out. I’m on the dancefloor.

  I think I spot him, but strobe lights start flickering, and the music changes—filling my ears with uneven beats, dark harmonies, and intense tempos.

  My senses kick into overdrive, making it impossible to concentrate, but I scan the room in a last-ditch attempt anyway and send a text directly to his phone instead of the app.

  Eden: Please, Cain. I need you.

  “Fine, be that way,” the man next to me snaps. “I was only trying to help, you drunk bitch.”

  “What?” I can’t understand a word he’s saying. I want to ask him to repeat himself, but the lights flash…and then it’s nothing but darkness.

  A few people scream, but it’s drowned out by a spooky, evil laugh that crackles through the speakers.

  A moment later, the lights turn back on, sheathing the room in a blood red hue again.

  My legs finally get the signal and I put one foot in front of the other. I’m halfway to the exit when the lights go out for a second time. It’s so dark I can’t even make out shapes, let alone walk.

  Terror spirals through me when a muscular arm wraps around my waist.

  I open my mouth to yell at the asshole who won’t take no for an answer, but I’m slammed against a wall.

  “Wh—” My eyes adjust, enabling me to see the tall figure wearing a black mask in front of me. My heart takes flight when I i
nhale the scent of Cain’s aftershave.

  “Cain.” I smile, feeling both relieved he came to my rescue and stupid for ever thinking he would bring me here to hurt me. “You found—” My voice catches when he presses his palm over my heart. The part of me he owns and controls. The part of me that will forever be tethered to him.

  I look down when his hand compresses, painfully constricting the organ. “What are you doing?”

  I try to maneuver out of his hold, but he’s too strong. Whenever I inhale, he pushes down harder. Fear pumps through my veins and I grip the collar of his jacket, urging him to stop.

  White spots form in front of my eyes and the hand gripping his collar goes limp at my side. It physically hurts to breathe. I’m going to pass out if he doesn’t let up in the next ten seconds.

  I flatten my back against the wall, hoping to catch a shallow breath, but the crushing weight becomes so unbearable, I give up.

  My knees buckle and I start to fall—but suddenly the force is gone.

  I suck in air so fast I cough, and try to push him away, but he leans in, his mouth hovering over my ear. “Remember that feeling, Eden.” His voice is deep and raspy…different. “Because it’s only going to get worse.”

  My blood runs cold. It’s not Cain.

  “Who are you?”

  I feel his lips curve against the shell of my ear. “A friend.”

  My cheeks heat when he nuzzles my neck and plants a kiss where my pulse is beating erratically. “My friends don’t hurt me.”

  I know I should be running away and finding Cain, but I need to know who this man is and how he knows my name.

  And why my body responds to him the way it does…even though it’s obvious he wants to harm me.

  “You’re right.” His teeth scrape my flesh as his hand slips through the slit in my dress. “I’m definitely not your friend.” The vehemence in his tone is chilling, yet his touch is soft like velvet. “Consider me a messenger.” He gives me an evil grin that makes my stomach drop. “Cain’s waiting for you upstairs.”